The Celadon Job: Redux
by HCHawke
Summary: What happens when an ex-cop, a hacker with a grudge, and a crew of gold-hearted rogues go toe to toe with one of the largest crime families in the Kanto region? A little event known as the Celadon Job. Join Ash Ketchum and Gary Oak as they plan one of the largest heists of all time against the powerful Team Rocket crime family! AdvanceShipping, IkariShipping, EgoShipping. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Evening all. Only a few small edits to this chapter, all in all. More to come. Yes, before you say, I am well aware this is a repost. Sort of the point of a Redux. Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Viridian City, Kanto

Ash Ketchum sat on the barstool, glaring up at the television that hung from the wall of the Viridian Bar and Grill, half eaten burger in his hands. News coverage of the release of Silver Sakaki, a witness in one of the largest trials in the Kanto Region in recent history. Silver had testified against a major player in Team Rocket in front of a grand jury, as part of a plea bargain.

While normally Ash would have been happy seeing one of the Rocket bosses behind bar, even if a lesser grunt walked, what he saw on the television made him feel sick.

The red-haired lieutenant had been involved in a small drive-by shooting that killed two in Viridian City two years ago, and Ash Ketchum, a former member of the International Police, or Interpol, had been the officer to bring him to justice, dead to rights.

Proof enough to convict Silver Sakaki for the murder of Professor Samuel Oak and Delia Ketchum. With enough evidence to put the boy away for twenty-five to life, Ash Ketchum thought for sure the boy would see justice for the murder of his mother and their friend.

Instead, he managed to get a plea bargain, testifying against Archer of Team Rocket in exchange for a lighter sentence. And now, a year after he went into the correctional facility, he was back out onto the streets, with media coverage on every local news station from here to Olivine Town. Ash scowled as he continued to glare, pushing his plate away. It was coming up on the two year anniversary of the shooting, and Ash sure as heck didn't want to spend it looking at Silver Sakaki's face.

Pulling out his wallet out of his dark jeans, he laid down enough money to cover his food and still leave a generous tip, and he left the tavern, heading out into the rain-soaked streets of Viridian City, fumbling for the keys to his car. ' _I've put criminals away before. I've put dozens away for them. But the one that matters, the one I wanted put away more than anything, and they give him a free pass.'_

Ash muttered under his breath as he settled into the leather seat of his car, shoving the key into the ignition and driving off, to anywhere but there.

As he got on the road, he soon found himself heading towards Pallet Town, where he grew up. As he drove the streets of his childhood, passing his home, he spotted a familiar sight; The Oak Research Laboratory. Taking a deep breath, he drove up and threw his car into park. He wasn't sure what possessed him to stop, but he felt it was time to pay a visit to an old friend.

* * *

Oak Research Laboratory, Pallet Town, Kanto

As the low whine of his heavily customized and expensive computer filled the home office, signalling it was booting up, Gary Oak took a sip of his coffee, just trying to get his eyes to open all the way.

Gary Oak was not a morning person. He was used to keeping extremely odd hours for his job, so getting up before noon was nearly unheard of for the millionaire. Being a network security specialist, he had to be up at odd hours of the night in order to run his network attacks. To put it simply, he was a white hat hacker; he got paid to attack people's network and database security.

He smirked as he let out a large stretch, enjoying the resounding sound of cracks and pops of his joints. His coffee was beginning to kick in, finally. Smiling as his eyes opened to normal proportions instead of Brock's normal, and quickly logged into his seven separate email accounts he used for business, across his six monitor setup.

"Bill, bill, script job, thank you, bill, script job... " He sighed as he checked his inbox. "I swear, if these idiots hired decent network specialists, I'd be out of a job. What ever happened to a challenge?" he asked himself rhetorically.

Grabbing the remote control, he threw on his big screen plasma TV to the wonderful sight of SIlver Sakaki's release. Scowling, he was about to switch the channel when he heard a knock on the door.

He sighed with a frown. "Who could that possibly be at this hour?" he asked as he pulled up his security camera feed for his front door onto one of his monitors. Granted, 'this hour' was noon on a saturday, but he was Gary. "Well, well. What're you doing here, Ashy-boy?" he asked as he got up with a curious smile, shuffling towards the door.

Ash pulled his leather pilot jacket closer around his neck, hood up to keep him somewhat dry in the Kanto rain. He was about to pound on his friend's door again when it opened up, revealing a tired looking, smirking Gary Oak standing there in sweatpants and a dark blue bathrobe.

"You're a bit early, Ashy-Boy. To what do I owe the honor?" he asked as he ushered his oldest friend into his not so humble abode. Ash wiped his feet and walked in as Gary closed the door. The brunette headed back towards his office, not even caring if Ash was following him at this point.

Of course, Ketchum had followed him, already used to interactions with the spiky-haired brunette. He'd visited several times since the funerals, though mostly on business. Six months after the shooting, Ash finally managed to get his hands on the triggerman, Silver Sakaki, partially with the help of Gary's hacking skills. Five months of courts and litigation after that, and Silver was sentenced to one year of prison. Ash quit his job at Interpol shortly after that, and Gary had turned back to corporate security.

"So seriously, what brings you home to Pallet?" Gary asked as he sat down in his office chair, turning to face his raven-haired friend.

Ash sighed, glaring at the TV. "Is he on every single channel?" he asked, annoyed.

Gary rolled his eyes. "I was about to change it when _someone_ decided to drop in…" he replied sardonically.

Ash's expression turned dark. He picked up the remote and changed the channel to another station.

"...And this comes hot on the tail of Giovanni Sakaki's announcement of the grand opening of the Celadon Game Corner Casino later this month. Silver is expected to be reunited with his father later this week, and be present for the opening."

As the news reporter continued on, Ash felt a growing urge to hurl the remote in his hand into Gary's expensive TV set. As he drew back to hurl the plastic, button-riddled brick, Gary quickly snatched it out of his hand.

"Oi! I don't come over to your house and break things!" he shouted crossly.

Ash just sighed, frustrated. "I just… One year! One blasted year, and that little punk is out, and daddy has a brand new casino, built with money from the hundreds he and the Rocket family played, robbed, or drove out of town," he said, shaking his head angrily.

Gary sighed, resting a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Look, dude, I know. I was right there with you for six months, hunting for that rat. I hate seeing him go just as much as you do, believe me, Ash. But you've got to let this go," he told his longtime friend. "How much has it cost you, now?"

Ash closed his eyes as Gary shut the TV off. "A lot," he admitted.

Gary shook his head ruefully. "Ash, it's been almost two years. I know you lost your mother, but you've got to let this go. We've done everything humanly possible against Team Rocket, and they spit it right back at us. There's nothing more we can do," he replied as he settled back into his chair.

Ash leaned his head back, still standing in front of the TV. He knew Gary was right. He didn't want to admit it, but he knew he was right. Ash had spent most of the last five years of his twenty-eight year old life hunting Team Rocket. He'd put multiple grunts behind bars, even a few admins. He'd served in the Kanto Detectives for seven years, and Interpol for two after that. He'd saved lives, put people away for crimes that sometimes kept him up at night, he'd even… fractured the occasional law in some investigations just to make sure the bad guys were off the streets.

' _If you have to jaywalk in order to catch a criminal about to shoot someone, you would,'_ his mentor used to tell him. Breaking into a suspect's house if you know they're about to destroy evidence, taking their phone records to nail them for a crime, even using Gary's… questionable contacts to locate information necessary for an arrest. As long as the bad guys were put behind bars, what did it matter how?

The pair descended into silence, only the sound of Gary's keyboard filling the office. Ash stared blankly at the television set, aimlessly listening to the constant pounding of Gary's keyboard. He'd run through the last two years over and over in his head. And now, after all his work, all his effort, all the rules he bent and broke to get Silver behind bars, and Team Rocket were unveiling a bloody casino later that month.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me…"

Turning, Ash saw Gary hunched over his keyboard, the sound of his keystrokes seeming more angry. "What's up, Gary?" he inquired.

"Someone's trying to breach my firewall," he responded, his gaze glued to his monitor.

"Any idea who's behind it?" Ash asked as he got up, heading behind his brunette friend.

"Trying to run a trace…" he replied, voice sounding strained. "Damn it. Whoever this idiot is, he's good."

Ash gripped the back of his friend's chair, watching as the countless, meaningless lines of code scrolled across the six monitors.

"On my mark, flip that breaker," the brunette told him, pointing to a small lever by his computer tower.

Ash nodded and grabbed it, holding his breath as he waiting for his friend to give the signal. After a few seconds of rapidly typing, he nodded.

"Now!" he signalled.

After pulling the breaker, the lines and lines of code stopped. All outside connectivity stopped short as Gary began combatting whatever virus was currently attacking his system. Six minutes later, he finally sat back in his chair, exhaling.

"Alright. We're clear," he told Ash as the adrenaline began to drain from his system. Sitting back up, he pulled up a window and pulled out his phone.

"What're you doing now?" Ash asked.

"Tracking the signal. It's coming from…" Gary trailed off, worrying Ash.

"Where'd it come from, Gary?" he asked.

Sighing, Gary showed his friend his phone. It read 'Celadon City, Private Property, Sakaki'. Ash's eyes widened.

"Gary, is that what I think it is?" he asked, and his friend nodded, mouth slightly ajar of shock.

"Yup."

Ash sighed, scratching the stubble on his cheek. "Should we call the police about it?" he asked. He knew that Gary occasionally ran with people of questionable ethics and legal standing, despite helping Ash with several investigations, so the police weren't Gary's favorite people.

Scratching the back of his neck, Gary shook his head with a frown. "I have no proof of it that I can use. You have any idea what they'd say if I told them 'Yeah, these people tried to hack me. How do I know it's them? I hacked them back, of course!' Yeah, that'll get me far…" he replied with a sigh.

"Do you know what they were after?" Ash asked.

"If I had to guess? Probably my business information, likely on Sliph Co. Look Ash, as much as I'd love a reason to put these guys into the ground, there's no way we can legally go after them. It's just the way the stupid justice system works," Gary told him as he began bringing his network back online. He didn't notice the frown on Ash's face, the confusion and realization that had dawned on him.

"Say that again," he replied, eyes taking on an intense look.

"What, how the justice system is a joke?" Gary asked, shooting his friend an odd look.

"No, before that," he stated.

"They were after my Silph Co. information?"

Ash facepalmed. "After that."

"We can't legally go after them?" Oak asked, even more confused now.

Ash just nodded, looking back at the monitors. "That's it. You're a genius! Why didn't I think of it sooner?" he asked himself rhetorically.

Gary spun in his chair to see Ash walk around the room, pacing. "Ashy-Boy? What, exactly, did I say?" he asked, wondering if Ketchum had finally lost it.

Ash tapped his chin in thought as he paced. "We can't hit them legally. It's impossible. Giovanni has too many officials, too many judges, officer Jennies in his pocket. The only reason Silver got out was because he ratted out Archer, which in turn gave more power of the Rocket family to Giovanni. The only way to hit him is outside the law," he explained quickly, the pacing beginning to make Gary dizzy.

"And that helps us… how, exactly?" he asked. ' _He's finally cracked. But if he's thinking what I think he's thinking...'_

"The only way to bring Giovanni down is to play by his rules," Ash concluded, turning to his friend with a glint in his eye. One that Gary had only seen when Ash was about to fracture a law to get a suspect.

"Ash… Tell me you're not thinking what I think you're thinking…" he pleaded.

"Look, my old mentor always used to say, 'If you have to jaywalk in order to catch a criminal about to shoot someone, you would.' I keep thinking of how to bust them like a cop," he told him, walking up to his friend with a smile that was slightly terrifying to Gary. "I've had it staring me in the face all this time, I just didn't see it. The only way to bring down a criminal like Giovanni is to play by his rules," he explained.

"And what, pray tell, does that entail?" Gary asked.

Ash exhaled, a grin settling onto his face. "Alright, we both know that if that casino opens, the Rocket family will have a fortune rolling in, right?" he asked. Gary nodded, so he continued. "So, we'd need to shut the casino down before it begins. And if we can't get at him legally, the only way to do that is to ruin him by other means."

"Ash, what you're suggesting would get us arrested for a very, very, _very_ long time, my friend. I'm too pretty for prison," Gary complained, but Ash just shook his head.

"You forget, Gary, I used to be a cop. I know how they'd think, how to avoid them, and besides, you really think the police would overly mind if the newest, untouchable Rocket front was hit?" he asked.

Gary had to hand it to him, his logic was sound. Scary coming from someone who spent most of his life playing by the book, by the law, and putting away people who would suggest this. But, then again, Ash wasn't a cop anymore. He was just an ex-Interpol officer with a grudge and a plan. ' _At least, I_ hope _he has a plan… Wait, am I actually considering this?!'_

"Come on, Gary. We both know that the Sakaki's are rotten to the core. We'd be doing Kanto a favor removing them from power," Ash prodded. "You know computer systems better than anyone I know. If anyone could get us into their systems, it'd be you."

Gary waved his hand, screwing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. "Look, enough with the 'us' already. What makes you think I want to throw out all my lucrative contracts, reputation, and go toe to toe with the biggest crime boss in Kanto _AND_ Johto?" he asked, looking back to his friend.

Ash simply looked his friend in the eye. "Because no one else will. Because Silver killed your grandfather and by extension my mother because Team Rocket wanted the research your grandfather found. Because, like you said, the justice system is a joke. And, because it's the right thing to do," Ash replied with such conviction, even Gary was beginning to contemplate his crusade.

It was true, Team Rocket had had Professor Oak gunned down so they could break into his laboratories during the funeral. They had taken just about everything related to his research, so Gary had heavily upgraded the lab's security systems, and assisted Ash in his investigation into the shootings. But, even now, they were still attacking the lab, albeit remotely now.

Gary tapped the ends of his fingers together, looking at his luxurious navy blue carpet, deep in thought. Finally, he sighed and looked back to Ash, a smile creeping onto his face. "I never thought I'd see the day when you wanted to play the other side." Taking a deep breath and blowing it out, he nodded. "Alright, let me see who I can get. If you want to knock over a casino, you'll need a crew."

Ash smiled. "I assume an upstanding citizen like you can put one together?" he asked. "We'll need a tech specialist, a hitter, a grifter, and a mechanic for what I have in mind," he continued, counting off on his fingers, and Gary nodded up until the mechanic.

"Uh. Alright, I can do that, but you might not care too much for some of the people I get. I mean, you've chased a lot of the underworld, and some of them might not take too kindly to you. You think you can play nicely?" he asked.

Ash nodded. "If you can get them to go with this, I'll work with whoever. I can fund part of this with what's left of my savings account, and we can pay whatever mercenaries you get with proceeds from the job," he replied, crossing his arms as Gary spun around back to his computer, pulling up faces onto each monitor.

Ash recognized the majority of the faces, though he froze and turned to Gary when the final picture was revealed.

"Wait, _Misty_?! That's your mechanic?" Ash questioned, and Gary just rolled his eyes.

"We both know she's the best. If you want this done right, we do it right," Gary snapped.

Ash sighed. "You're right. I'm sorry. Alright, make the calls."

* * *

Sunnyshore City, Sinnoh

"Oof!" the man grunted as he was slammed against the wall, hard. Staring back at him were a pair of onyx eyes, attached to a head of purple hair, falling to the man's shoulders. The assailant was wearing a black denim jacket, dark purple knit ski cap, dark grey cargo pants, heavy boots, and a look that told him that this man would kill him without a second thought.

"I- I already told you everything I know!" he told the purple-haired man, feeling close to wetting himself.

He watched as the assailant pulled his arm back, and he closed his eyes and flinched, waiting for the blow to land. To his surprise, it didn't. Instead, he heard a slight jingle, like a ringtone.

"Shinji. Speak."

Opening his eyes, he saw the thug had pulled out a cellphone, and was talking on it.

"No, I can talk. Six figures? Kanto. Alright, I'm in. I'll be there," he said intermittently, before he hung up, pocketing his phone. Glancing back at the man he was currently holding against a wall, the purple-haired man smirked. Right before slamming his head into his target's.

* * *

Hearthome City, Sinnoh

"Come on, Dawn, one date, that's all I ask!"

The blunette woman sighed, putting her hands into the pockets of her white trenchcoat. She genuinely liked Kenny. He was a good guy, but she knew things wouldn't work out between them. After all, he was an accountant with a fairly large firm here in Hearthome. And her? Dawn prided herself on her acting abilities, and had a steady cover job as an actress.

In her off time, however, she was a thief. A grifter. Some would say a con woman, but she prefered the term con artist. Con men and women left their targets angry. Con artists left them with a smile, not realizing they had been had. And while she could easily, _easily_ take Kenny's attraction for her to the bank and back, she had a strict code of honor. She only hit marks who could stand to lose the money, and only ones who used their money and power to harm others.

"Look, Kenny, you're a nice guy and all, but it just wouldn't work. Trust me," she told him, trying to let him down easy.

"Dawn, we've known each other since we were kids. It's not like I'm asking you to marry me, just a simple dinner," he told her, looking at her with pleading eyes.

As she opened her mouth to refuse again, she felt her phone ring in her pocket. Sighing, she pulled it out, raising a finger to the auburn-haired man.

"Dawn Berlitz, how may I help you?" she answered with a sweet voice, before frowning. "Gary? Uh, yeah, I can talk. A job offer? Where, exactly? Kanto?"

Kenny frowned as he listened to Dawn talk with this 'Gary'. Kanto was a separate region entirely.

"What's the part, exactly?" she asked, placing her other hand on her hip. Suddenly her eyes widened. "That's... " She sighed. "Alright. I'll be on a plane tonight. Yup, see you then," she finished, hanging up her phone and giving Kenny an apologetic smile. "Sorry, that was a friend of mine. He's got a part for me to play in one of his upcoming co-..." She coughed as she caught her slip. "Upcoming county/western films," she finished, blushing slightly.

Kenny sighed and nodded. "I understand. Show business and all. So, you're going to Kanto?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. I'm really sorry it's such short notice, but it's a bit of a time sensitive part," she explained.

He waved away her concerns. "No, I understand completely. Go, break a leg, or whatever you do in show business. I actually might be out in Kanto in a few weeks, maybe we can meet up then," he suggested.

Dawn smiled. "If I'm not too busy, sure," she told the boy as she stepped off the curb, hailing a cab. She had to go home and pack for her latest role.

* * *

Slateport City, Hoenn

"It'll be fine, May. I'm telling you, it'll hold your weight completely," the twenty-three year old computer techie told her. Wearing a forest green dress shirt, khaki pants, a pair of glasses, head of green-blue hair and a smirk, the boy held out a repelling rig to his older sister. "I designed it myself, five point harness, three point weight support, carbon fiber line, auto-braking resistance, the whole nine yards."

May sighed, taking the rig and looking it over. She brushed her long brown hair behind her ears as she studied her brother's creation. It looked perfect, but she wasn't sure about any untested tech, which Max was known for. Sighing again, she nodded and began slipping the harness on over her red windbreaker jacket and tight blue jeans. "Alright, but if this drops me, I'm going to destroy your computer setup at home," the brunette warned.

Max just smirked at his sister. "You worry too much, May."

The siblings had always had a love-hate relationship with each other growing up. When the two began their career as professional thieves, it intensified, but the two always got the job done. May had become one of the best cat burglars in Hoenn and Max had a reputation for designing and using some of the best tech his genius-level mind could invent. Together, the two had hit several lucrative targets without getting so much as implicated, with May doing the fieldwork and Max acting as support to his sister. Despite their bickering and arguing, they made a great team.

As the brunette attached the line to the ceiling of the warehouse they were currently in, Max returned to his laptop, set up on the platform they were on. Giving his sister a grin and a thumbs up, he went to work typing, leaving May to hook onto the line with her harness and test it out.

Now, she wasn't stupid. She knew her brother's inventions normally worked brilliantly. But, on rare occasion, he forgot something. That's why she was currently twenty feet in the air over a giant safety stunt bag. ' _Alright May, now or never,'_ she thought to herself as she jumped off the platform.

As she fell through the air towards the bag, the harness began to work, slowing her descent to a crawl. As her feet touched near the bag, she hit the release on the harness, and it dropped her lightly onto the overstuffed bag with a grin.

"And the verdict is?" Max asked from above, poking his head over the side of the raised platform.

She gave him a thumbs up. "Alright, you win, I'll find a way to use it in our next heist," she replied, working her way to the edge of the pillow to climb her way back up to Max's setup, grabbing a water bottle on the way up.

When she finally did climb up, however, she heard her brother's ringtone go off. Frowning, he picked it up. "Max Maple, custom technology and equipment, how may I help you?" he asked. "Gary? Gary Oak? Wow, you're a blast from the past. What's up?"

May looked up from the floor where she sat with her water bottle. Last time she heard that name was a year ago when he met her brother. Gary was a hacker who played both sides, but he had a reputation for getting it done and getting his crew paid. Granted, he was a mercenary when it came down to it, but he put his crew first. At least, that's what Max had told her. She'd never met the hacker herself.

"Job offer, eh? Alright, but you know, we're a box set. Kanto? Alright, I think we can do that," he told him slowly, glancing at May.

She nodded. She had no major gigs planned in Hoenn, and a vacation could be good.

"Yeah, we're in. We'll see you soon," Max replied as he hung up his phone and pocketed it, beginning to take apart his extensive laptop setup for transit.

"So, what's Gary got for us? May asked as she got up and stretched.

"Wouldn't say," Max replied, pulling bags out and shoving gear in. "Only that he had a big job out in Kanto for us. Six figures."

May's eyes shot open. "Six?" she asked, not quite believing the hundred thousand minimum payout.

He glanced up. "Come on, it's Gary. He's always got something up his sleeve. Don't let the whole white hat act fool you."

May grinned at the thought of such high level work. A chance to test herself. And the payout certainly wasn't bad either.

* * *

Cerulean City, Kanto

"I still don't see why you couldn't just phone her," Ash whined as Gary drove his sports car through the streets of Cerulean City, looking for the Gyarados Garage.

"Because, Ashy-Boy, if I called her, and she came all the way to Celadon City, and then saw you and decided not to join up? She'd pound us both into the ground. This way, we know for sure if she's in," the spiky-haired brunette explained, idly pulling a piece of lint off his black dress shirt.

Ash just grumbled in the passenger seat. ' _At least the rain's stopped,'_ he reflected as the pulled into the Garage parking lot. The two exited the car, heading for the front door.

Gary strode forward with purpose, black dress shirt, dark jeans, spotless shoes, and his purple, teardrop-shaped pendant around his neck. Ash, however, kept his head low and hood up on his leather jacket, simple black tee underneath, normal blue jeans, and a pair of sneakers.

Inside, the receptionist smiled at the pair, her focus on her computer for the moment. "Welcome to the Gyarados Garage," she greeted them.

Gary gave her his best, heart melting smile. "Afternoon beautiful," he greeted, as smooth as molasses.

"Uh… You're…. You're Gary Oak," the receptionist realized as she looked up, blushing like mad.

Gary chuckled. "Indeed I am. Could you be a dear and point me to where I might find a redheaded mechanic with a temper the size of Kanto?"

After she sat there for a moment, her mouth hanging open a bit, she shook her head. "Uh, yes. Misty's in the garage at the moment," she informed him.

Gary smirked. "Thanks," he told her as he headed through the indicated door, Ash hot on his heels, leaving the poor receptionist to compose herself.

"I think you enjoy doing that a little too much," Ash observed.

Gary simply smirked. "Can't help it if I'm the most eligible bachelor in Kanto, Ketchum," he fired back.

As the two walked across the noisy car shop, Ash spotted a pair of long, shapely legs in jeans sticking out from beneath one of the cars. Tapping Gary on the shoulder, he pointed it out, and Gary nodded, walking over and prodding her boot with his shoe.

"One sec," came the reply from beneath the hood. After a few seconds, the legs pulled themselves out on a crawler, revealing an athletic body wearing a set of coveralls, a face marked with grease, and a gray bandana holding down a set of brilliant orange hair. She also had a look of disbelief on her face as she stood up.

"Afternoon Red," Gary greeted with the same smile he used on the receptionist. She promptly ignored him, looking directly at Ash.

"Hey Misty…" Ash started.

The resounding slap echoed through the large Garage.


	2. Chapter 2

Welcome back to the Celadon Job, introducing the first new scene. Hope you guys enjoy, both new and old readers! Disclaimer: I own - _nothing_ -!

* * *

Chapter Two

Gyarados Garage, Cerulean City, Kanto

Ash rubbed his stinging cheek. "Alright, I deserved that," he admitted as the furious redhead glared at him. His friend Gary simply looked amused, glancing between his oldest friend and the man's ex-flame.

"Ketchum, if the next words out of your mouth include 'Silver' or 'Investigation', so help me Arceus, I will hit you with my truck," the redhead warned dangerously.

Ash put his hands up to calm the girl.

Gary was enjoying the fact that Ash Ketchum, former Interpol agent was terrified of his ex. "Listen, Red, you got someplace we can talk? I promise, if Ash says either word, I'll give you an alibi, alright?" Gary asked, with all the charm he could muster.

Misty glared between the two for a moment before nodding. She began walking towards the offices, indicating to follow her. The pair obeyed, following her into a small office littered with pictures of the girl's older sisters and cars, the occasional car part. A simple desk and a computer so old that it made Gary wince sat in the center of the room, and the seats consisted of seats ripped out of actual vehicles. Closing the door behind them and taking her spot behind the desk, she waved a hand to the two seats in front of her desk.

"So, what brings you two to Cerulean that it couldn't be said over the phone?" she asked defensively. Ash wasn't high on her list these days, and Gary had always been a shameless flirt, not even worth her time. Together…

"We'd like to offer you a job," Gary told her, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head and a smirk on his face.

Misty shook her head. "I _have_ a job, as you recall. I manage this garage," she stated, gauging them both. ' _What are you two up to...'_ she thought to herself, eyes narrowing.

"No. Not a day job. Some custom work. Listen, you watch the news lately?" Gary asked.

MIsty nodded slowly. Silver had been on the news for the past few hours since his release. "So, Ash won't say Silver, but you will? Get out," she told them flatly.

"Misty, five minutes. That's all we ask," Ash told her.

Against her better judgement, she nodded. "Fine. You have five minutes. Speak," she told them.

Gary smirked. "As you've likely heard, there's a new Casino opening in Celadon City in three weeks. Giovanni Sakaki's place. We want to hit it," the brunette told her bluntly, running a hand through his brown, spiky hair.

Misty rolled her eyes and deadpanned. "This is my shocked face, can you tell?" she asked them sardonically. "Look, I don't want to hear about Silver, or Team Rocket, or Interpol Investigations, or the justice system," she told them, doing her best to control her temper.

That's when Gary's face broke into a grin. "Good. Because we've tried Interpol and the justice system. Didn't get far. So we're trying a different method," he explained.

Ash leaned forward, folding his hands and resting his elbows on his knees. "We're not going to arrest Giovanni. We're going to rob him."

Misty blinked. She stared at Ash like he had grown a second head. Turning back to Gary, she saw his grin threatened to crack his face, it had spread so wide. She shook her head and blinked a few times.

"Well, I think my hearing is going from all those car stereo systems I've installed," she rationalised. "Either that or I'm going insane, because I could swear that you, Ash Ketchum, former Boy Scout, former Police Officer, and former Interpol Agent just suggested _robbing_ a casino. Run by one of the most powerful men in Kanto," she explained, beginning to laugh lightly.

Gary's grin didn't waver. "Yup. You heard right, Red. So, you in?" he asked, as if asking something simple, like going out to lunch. Granted, Misty would have turned lunch down in a second, but this…

She shook her head in disbelief. "So, let me get this straight; You two want to knock over the Celadon Game Corner Casino. Run by one of the more powerful members of the Rocket family," she said slowly, before being interrupted by Ash.

He raised a finger. "On opening night," he clarified.

Misty blinked. "On opening night," she repeated, "And you want to hire me to _help_ you? Do you have _any_ idea how much trouble we could all get in for even _suggesting_ this?!" she asked, her voice gradually getting higher and higher. She glanced out her office windows conspiratorially. The last thing she needed was one of her people walking by and the wrong moment and thinking she was actually _considering_ this.

Ash began counting charges off on his fingers. "Conspiracy to commit grand larceny, conspiracy to commit grand theft, conspiracy to hack a private server, conspiracy to run a confidence game, possibly jaywalking," he told her.

She growled. ' _Of course Ash would take that literally,_ ' she thought to herself. "What makes you think, in your deranged little world, that I would honestly help you both with this?!" she asked is a hushed shout. "I lost almost a year of my life while you two played cowboy, hunting down that little red headed rat, and now, after all you put me through, Ash Ketchum, you walk into _my_ garage, and want me to help you rob a bloody _casino_?! Give me one good reason I shouldn't have my receptionist call the cops on you two right now?"

Ash sighed, his expression determined. "Misty, I'm sorry things didn't work out between us. I truly am. But I lost the last two years mourning my mom and Gary's grandfather. I did everything I could to get justice done and put it behind me. And the justice system said no. The past is still there. So I'm not asking you as your ex. I'm not asking you as an officer of the law. I'm asking you as a determined, angry man. Help me bring these idiots down. Help us take everything from them, like they did to us," he told her, a strange glint in his eye.

Misty picked up her phone, debating if she was going to call the police or not. That's when Gary spoke up again.

"Did I mention the job pays at least six figures, if everything goes according to plan, possibly more?" he asked with a smirk.

While her expression didn't change on the exterior, inside she was floored. ' _That's more than I make in two_ years _,'_ she realized. Still, she dialled her receptionist. "Hi, Lanette?" she asked, and the two men held their breath. "I need you… to call Rusty. Tell him I need to take a few weeks off. Yeah, starting tomorrow. I know it's short notice, but something came up. Alright. Yeah, I'll be here the rest of the day. Alright, bye," she stated, hanging up and putting her phone back onto her desk.

"Alright, you two," she told them. "I assume it's not just the three of us against the house?" she asked.

Gary nodded. "You'll meet the crew when Ash does. There are four others. We'll come by to pick you up tomorrow morning," he explained, and she nodded.

She glanced at Ash, whose expression was unreadable. She considered asking if he was alright, but pride demanded otherwise. She stood. "I'll see you both tomorrow, then. I'll be in the parking lot by six," she informed them, causing Gary to groan.

"Why do people think it's normal to get up so early?" he asked rhetorically, gaining a smirk from Misty and Ash.

Tomorrow would be a busy day.

* * *

Cerulean City, Kanto

Gary sat in the passenger seat of his blue sports car, snoring lightly, as Ash drove them towards the Gyarados Garage. The streets of Cerulean City were completely empty this early in the morning, making it a simple task to get to the garage. Under normal circumstances, Gary would have only gotten to sleep a couple of hours ago. Six AM was not a time he normally acknowledged unless he had already been up twelve hours prior. So, while Ash drove Gary's expensive car down the streets, Gary caught up on some much needed sleep, and would likely still be asleep when they pulled into Celadon City. Which left Ash apprehensive.

Misty and he had parted on bad terms. The simple fact that she had agreed was still shocking, and he half expected to pull into the garage parking lot only to see a group of police come out. To be fair, he didn't blame her at all for the break up. Things just… didn't work out. Still, he wasn't looking forward to having to speak with her without Gary awake.

As he turned onto the correct street and spotted the garage parking lot, he let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding. In the parking lot, sitting in her blue pickup truck was Misty Waterflower. Pulling up, he stopped in front of the garage, waiting for her to fall in behind the car. When he was sure she was following him, he started making for the highway, heading south towards Saffron City and eventually Celadon City.

* * *

Celadon City, Kanto

"Gary, we're here," Ash told his friend as he pulled into the warehouse parking lot.

"Ugh… Five more minutes…" he replied groggily. Ash had the foresight to rent the warehouse before they left Pallet for the next month using what was left of his savings, to use as a base of operations.

Throwing the car into park, he got out, slamming the door to hopefully wake the lazy brunette millionaire up. He watched with a feeling of dread as the pickup parked next to Gary's sports car. Zipping up his brown leather jacket, he made his way towards the door of the warehouse, key in hand. He had on the same jacket he had yesterday, with a set of torn up jeans, running shoes, and a white dress shirt under his jacket. His unruly raven hair wasn't brushed, and he looked tired.

As he started unlocking the door, he turned back to the vehicles, where Gary was slowly waking up. His friend had on dress slacks, a clean white button up shirt, a black vest, and a pair of spotlessly clean shoes. Oak had a history of being a lady's man since his teens. Heir to the Oak fortune, he'd always dressed well when going out, and his job as a hacker paid very well. He had an expensive lifestyle, he even had a fanclub devoted to him. What he lacked, however, were challenges.

Misty, on the other hand, had grown up in a middle-class home with three older sisters. Hand-me-downs were normal for her. Her job as the garage manager paid decently, though, so she updated her wardrobe to shy away from her sister's fashion sense. Hopping out of her truck, she wore a pair of simple jeans, a sleeveless sea-green shirt, work boots, and a light gray bandana.

She made her way over to Gary's car and opened his door, grinning as she heard the startled yelp of the brunette nearly falling , his seatbelt was on, keeping him from falling onto the pavement below his car.

"Oi! Red, I'm up, I'm up!" Gary sputtered, flailing and getting tied up in his seatbelt. Misty chuckled as she walked away from the car and towards the warehouse door. Gary, now very much awake, managed to untangle himself and get out of the car, quickly jogging over to the pair. "You know for the record, I respond much better to coffee and pretty girls rather than life threatening head injuries and suddenly losing what I'm sleeping on. You know, just for future reference," he complained as he stretched.

Ash just shook his head, a smile on his face. ' _Some things never change,'_ he thought to himself, unlocking the warehouse and opening the door. As he and his two companions walked in, lights began kicking on.

"Alright, so we're in Celadon City. Now we just need to get the place set up and wait for the others to get here," Gary told them as they walked into the abandoned facility.

Misty whistled. "This place is bigger than the garage," she realized. "How much did this set you back, Gary?" she asked.

"The warehouse? Nothing. From me, anyways," he replied. "Ashy-Boy paid for the warehouse rental out of his own pocket. Part of the deal," the brunette explained with a grin.

"Deal?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ash replied. "I rent the base for the crew, and he covers the crew's rates until the payout," he explained.

"Rates?" she asked again. Misty was still a bit in the dark on everything since their conversation yesterday, recruiting her.

"Yes, rates. Some of us prefer being paid."

Glancing among them, the three realized none of them had said a word. Looking around, they saw a figure walk out of the shadows of a stack of pallets. The three froze, each watching the stranger carefully. He was wearing black jeans, a gray turtleneck, black denim jacket, fingerless gloves and a dark purple knit cap. The trio thought they saw dark purple hair falling around his face from beneath his hat.

Ash was vaguely sure he'd seen him before, but couldn't place him. Misty, however, was settling into a combat stance.

Gary just smiled. "Should have figured you'd beat us here," he said, walking towards the dark clothed man and extending a hand. "Shinji," he greeted.

Taking the hand with a neutral expression, the stranger shook it. "Oak. You should know by now I do my research before a job," he told them, his voice slightly scratchy. Turning to Gary's companions, he looked them both up and down. "Ketchum. Underworld wondered where you vanished to. Never thought you'd jump sides," he told the man gruffly.

Misty and Ash frowned. "Can't say we've met. You know me, I take it?" Ash asked curiously.

"Someone like you goes off the streets, people know," he replied, turning to Misty. "What's your story?"

She blinked. "I wasn't aware I needed one," she complained, shooting Gary a look.

He just smiled. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Paul Shinji. Our hitter," he introduced with a grin. "He'll handle security and retrieval for the team, along with some other things," Gary explained.

"Good to meet you. I'm Misty," she introduced herself.

Paul nodded. "How many more?" he asked, turning back to Gary.

"We've got three more coming, then we can get into the planning phase," Gary explained as he began walking over towards one of the loading doors. "Come on, give me a hand with the door and lets get the vehicles parked, then we can set up."

An hour later, and the crew had gotten all their vehicles inside the warehouse, Paul had done a sweep of the area, and Gary was setting up his computer systems. He'd taken over a second story room overlooking the warehouse as his base of operations, likely used as an overseers office back when the warehouse was built. Offices had been selected to act as bedrooms, and now all they needed was the rest of the crew.

* * *

Private Warehouse, Celadon City, Kanto

"Max, are you sure this is the place?" May asked.

"Yes, May, I'm sure. This is the place," Max told her as he pulled their red rental car into the parking lot. Even though he would argue it to the death, he was beginning to wonder if he had the right address himself. Would he admit that? No way.

As he found a spot and parked, he began wondering what sort of job Gary had for them. ' _Gary's a hacker. What use would he have for a tech specialist_ and _a thief? Just me, I could see, maybe upgrading some tech or security of one of his clients, but why bring May into this too?'_

May undid her seatbelt and got out of the car, enjoying the cool Kanto air, wearing a set of jeans, sandals, a red blouse, and her signature red bandana keeping her brown hair from her sapphire eyes.

Max exited the driver side, wearing a simple green t-shirt and khaki pants, sneakers, and his glasses. The two nodded to each other and headed towards the access door on the side of the warehouse. May was about to knock when he saw another car pull into the lot, this one white.

"Who's that?" he asked.

May could only shrug as she balled her fist and began pounding on the door. A minute later, the door was opened by a brunette man with spiky brown hair and a grin.

"Max!" he greeted. "It's been, what, a year since that tech job in Johto? Good to see ya," he told him, holding his hand out to Max, who shook it with a smile.

"It's been too long, Gary. This is my sister, May," he introduced, indicating the brunette girl beside him who offered Gary her hand.

Gary nodded and took the hand, kissing the back. "The pleasure is mine," he stated.

May simply smirked. "You're trouble, aren't you?" she asked sarcastically. "Flattery will get you nowheres, you know," she told him as she went back towards the car to get her things.

Gary looked around and finally saw the second car. "You guys take two vehicles?" he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion. Before Max could answer, the door of the white car opened, revealing a beautiful woman with midnight blue hair, a white trenchcoat, high heeled shoes, and a confident smile.

Max's jaw dropped. "Is… Is that Dawn Berlitz, the Sinnoh actress?" he asked.

Gary's expression turned to a wide grin. "You would be correct, my young Hoenn friend," he replied, poking fun at the fact that Max was the youngest person on his crew. "As much as I'd like to tell you she's here for me, though, she's part of the crew. I'll go open the loading bay doors, grab your car and let's get you, May, and Miss Berlitz offloaded."

It was a few hours after noon when the crew were all finally settled into the operations room. Gary had set up several of his monitors in addition to a projector screen system. Max had commandeered a table for his own laptop and variety of technical gadgets and equipment. The rest had all settled into chairs around the room, each waiting for full introductions and the plan.

Gary stood up in the front, his back to the window overlooking the warehouse floor. "Welcome all, and thanks for coming. I hope you all had a good trip," he began. "I am, as you all know, Gary Oak. The greatest hacker in Kanto, and possibly the world, millionaire, and criminal extraordinaire," he said with a bow.

"And he's just _so_ humble…" Misty remarked sarcastically. May and Dawn giggled, and Ash nodded in agreement, a smirk on his face from Gary's antics.

Grinning arrogantly, Gary continued. "Many of you probably know former Interpol officer Ketchum, AKA our mastermind for this job. Ash is in charge. If any of you have a problem working for a former cop, you're free to leave. No hard feelings, and thanks for coming."

The brunette glanced around. No one got up. "Alright then, welcome to Operation 'Break the House'. First up, we've got Misty Waterflower," he told them, pointing out the redhead sitting with her legs up on one of the tables. "Misty's our mechanic and driver. She's also one of the best racers on the Kanto circuits, holding best lap times on two separate tracks."

She nodded, getting a few raised eyebrows, even from Ash.

"Next up, Paul Shinji," Gary continued, indicating the quiet purple-haired man. "Paul's our hitter, and will be one of our insiders. He's capable of killing you with his bare hands, and is fully versed in knives, firearms, martial arts, retrieval, and generally hitting people."

"Hn," Paul responded, ignoring the looks the others gave him.

"The one person here everyone probably knows, besides me and my handsome face of course, is Dawn Berlitz. She a famous actress from Sinnoh. What you probably didn't know is that Dawn here is one of the best grifters in Sinnoh. She's run confidence games all over the region and she's going to be our other insider."

Dawn stood up and gave them a polite bow. "A pleasure. I can't wait to get this show started," she told the others.

"Finally, you have the Maple Siblings, May and Max. Max's one of the best technicians and equipment specialists I know. He can play backup hacker, if I'm otherwise occupied. He can also program a VCR, should we need it," Gary joked, gaining some light chuckles.

"Because I'm sure the fate of the entire heist will fall upon whether or not he can properly program a VCR," Misty joked with an amused smirk.

"May, on the other hand, is one of the best thieves you'll ever have the pleasure of meeting. She can lift everything out of your pockets just by smiling at you and pick a lock in seconds. She also has a major sweet tooth. Every major jewel heist in Hoenn in the past four years were pulled by one of two crews. The Maples were the more successful crew."

The pair smiled, nodding their heads to their compatriots.

Gary took a seat in front of his computer and waved for Ash to continue. Nodding, the raven-haired ex-cop stood up and headed to the front of the room.

"Alright Gary, run it," he told the brunette. A picture of a large building appeared on one of the monitors.

"Three weeks from now, Giovanni Sakaki opens the Celadon Game Corner Casino. Team Rocket's latest front. For those of you who don't live here in Kanto, Team Rocket are the major crime family here. Pokémon poaching and smuggling, stolen cars, money laundering, gun running, you name it, they control it here. We've got one shot to get this right, because if we screw this up, Team Rocket will destroy us. The good news is that when we hit them, we won't have to worry about any law enforcement. Giovanni won't call the Houndoom down on his own property, which gives us some room to work."

Gary moved to the next series of pictures, blueprints to a pair of buildings.

"So, for the next few weeks, recon and preparations begin," Ash continued. "We've managed to get the basic blueprints for the Game Corner and the Rocket's main base of operations in Celadon. Since Gary and I are fairly notorious in the Rocket ranks, several of you will be running recon jobs. Dawn, Gary's going to set you up with a fake ID and credentials to get you inside. You're going to infiltrate Giovanni's casino and get us whatever you can in the next three weeks."

The blunette nodded. "Do you have a way in for me, yet, or shall I get creative?" she asked, studying the blueprints intently.

"We were thinking movie executive from Sinnoh, wanting to use the spot for a movie shoot, but if you've got ideas, let's have em," Gary replied.

Dawn got up and slowly walked up to the screen. "What do you have on him?" she asked. A second later, the monitors changed to show a well dressed man with close-cut black hair.

Gary began going over his background. "Giovanni Sakaki, born August first, age forty-three, grew up in Alto Mare in Johto before he moved to Kanto. Took over the Sakaki branch of Team Rocket when he was twenty-three, killing his own father to do so. Wife, deceased, and a son, Silver Sakaki. A year ago, Silver did time in a Kanto correctional facility for a drive by shooting. Got a plea bargain and got his sentence reduced. His testimony put Archer Apollo, another Rocket boss, behind bars, which let Giovanni take over the Apollo's business in Celadon City."

All the while, Dawn tapped her chin in thought, a smile slowly growing on her face. "Alto Mare, huh? I'll have an identity for you to build tomorrow at the latest," she told him, returning to her seat. She folded her hands and continued listening.

Ash returned to his spot. "Shinji, you're our other insider. We want you to join Team Rocket as a grunt, so we can learn about their personal security here in Celadon. There's no way they'll leave it to the local PD, and on opening night, they'll need all hands on deck. Get in, learn what you can about the building and operating procedures," he told him. Almost as an afterthought, he added "And the vehicles. I want everything you can get on their vehicles."

The man looked sceptical, rubbing his stubble-covered chin. "Alright. Haven't done much grifting work, but I can give it a shot. I'll give Oak one of my old IDs. Get me in, and I'll get you your intel."

Ash nodded. "While Gary sorts that, you and Max are in charge of setting up a security system for the warehouse. We don't want any uninvited guests. Max, I'll also need some sort of communications other than phone. Got anything?"

The boy genius smiled. "Yeah I've got some bluetooth headset systems that I've been meaning to try. Hidden mics, real time transmission, tracking. Just get me a list and a few hours and I'll have some systems to test," he replied.

"Alright, good. May, you're on exterior surveillance and infiltration," Ash continued, nodding to the brunette woman. "You worked almost exclusively in Hoenn, so I doubt anyone will recognize you over here. I'll need whatever you can get on this place, blueprints, security specs, the people…"

The brunette raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Ketchum, you know this isn't my first job, right? You chased me enough to know that much. I'll have a complete dossier of the place, the entry points, security weaknesses, you name it," she said, leaning back in her chair, crossing her arms with a smug smile.

Ash bowed his head. "Alright, fair enough. I recall how your jobs go. Do your thing and keep me posted," he replied.

Misty blinked. ' _I wonder how those two know each other. He never mentioned her before,'_ she thought to herself.

"Misty."

Shaking her head, she looked back at Ash, realizing he was now onto her part. Straightening up, she nodded.

"You're going to be on recon. Later, once Shinji gets the intel on their vehicles, I'll need you to make a perfect replica of one of theirs. Think you can do it?" he asked.

Misty nodded. "I can do it. If Paul gets me what I need, I can clone you a vehicle," she replied.

He nodded. "Alright then, you all have your jobs. We've got three weeks of prep, and only one night to get it all right. Everyone clear on what we need to do?" Ash asked, glancing around. Six nods greet him. "Good. Let's get to work."

* * *

Celadon City, Kanto

Dinner time had rolled around, and the team had all found their own machinations to keep them occupied. The team spent the last few hours unpacking their gear, with Max and Gary turning the overseer's office into a command and control center.

Paul had moved into a room next to their command center, traveling extremely light, only clothes and an assortment of exotic knives. He also helped Max and Gary set up a full security suite for the warehouse. Cameras, door sensors, the works.

Dawn had moved in a large amount of clothing, wigs, and makeup to one of the offices, turning the place into her own personal dressing room. It reminded Misty of living with her sisters. Thankfully, Dawn was far less overbearing than Lily, Daisy, and Violet.

May had a variety of tools and gadgets brought in, most of which were custom built by either her or her brother. How she had everything smuggled into Kanto was another story. She also had a staggering amount of snacks, from chips to cookies, popcorn to sodas. She had caught a few looks, but no one had questioned it.

Ash traveled light, only a simple duffel of clothing. He had gotten used to traveling as such from his days in Interpol. Chasing thieves and mobsters was normal for him. _Being_ the thief, that was taking some getting used to, but he could manage.

Misty traveled similarly, just a duffle of clothing and mechanic tools. While her sisters traveled with enough clothes to wear something different every day of a month, she was much more pragmatic.

When the crew had finally settled in, it was decided that Gary and Max would finish setting up their network. Seeing as Gary and Ash were fairly well known in Kanto, and especially to Team Rocket, Misty was sent out to get food, the crew settling on pizza. May decided to tag along to recon the local restaurants.

The pair were on their way back in Misty's truck just as the sun began to set.

"So, what do you do, anyways?" May asked, stack of pizzas on her lap, two boxes of which were reserved for the brunette and her appetite.

Misty shot an odd glance at the brunette as she drove towards the warehouse. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, all I know is you're a mechanic. And you have some talent in racing? Are you an underground street racer or something?" May asked brightly, seemingly oblivious to the fact that she was asking Misty if she was a criminal.

' _Well, I am sort of the odd one out. I am working with a bunch of criminals to rob a casino, after all.'_ Misty sighed, thinking how to placate the woman. "I used to street race with some guys back in the day. My sisters all dated car guys, idiots who had more money than brains, but I was more interested in how the cars worked," she replied, curious on why she was talking about her life to a jewel thief. "I wasn't the type to wait on a boy like my sisters. Rather just go out and do it myself."

May smiled. "So, you beat on the boys growing up?" she asked, amused at the thought.

"Yeah. The look on their faces when they realized their best time was just beaten by their girlfriend's little sister was priceless," she continued, a small smile on her face. "How about you? You're not quite what I expected."

May gave the redhead a lopsided grin. "How's that?" she asked good naturedly.

Misty shrugged. "I guess I just figured a jewel thief to be… different, that's all," she confessed. She felt slightly embarrassed, having this conversation about assumptions with a known jewel thief.

"What, you were expecting an old guy with a mustache and a cane? Old car chases and black and white movies? Bow ties and tuxedos?" she asked, her grin still in place. "Nah. Max and I have been scheming together since we realized we could work together to raid the cookie jar. He skins his knee, I swipe a few cookies, when mom and dad are done kissing the boo boo and making it all better, he and I meet outside and settled up," she explained. "Granted, before that, we fought like Skitty and Poochyena," she added.

"You still do, from what I heard. Gary said you were two arguing where to park earlier," Misty noted as they pulled up to a traffic light, waiting for a green.

May rubbed her head sheepishly. "I… can't really argue that."

The light changed and Misty pushed the truck through the intersection, heading towards the outskirts of town where the warehouse was. Her new home for the next few weeks. "Hey May, can I ask you something?"

May grinned. "You just did," she joked.

Misty rolled her eyes. "How do you and Ash know each other?"

May shrugged as she adjusted her grip on the pizzas in her lap. "Ash chased me in Hoenn once or twice about three years ago. Think he had just joined Interpol, ended up as added security in Ever Grande for a big jewelry exhibit. One that Max and I happen to… 'visit'. Amazing ramen there, by the way," she added. "Anyways, he was on my trail for a few months. Skitty and Rattata for a while, there. He vanished about a year after that. Heard he went back to Kanto. Haven't seen him since. Before today, anyways."

' _Two years ago would have been just about the time of his mother's death,'_ Misty realized.

"How about you? How do you know him?"

Misty blinked as she realized May was talking to her again.

"Uh… He kinda pulled me over for speeding one day back when he was with the Kanto PD. Let me off with a warning. Couple days later, his car pulls into my garage for repairs. We tried dinner. About a year ago, things kinda started getting… tense. We, uh… we parted on bad terms. I certainly wasn't expecting him to walk into my garage and bring me on board for this," she explained as the pair pulled into the warehouse parking lot. Her expression didn't change.

May was silent for a few moments, as if debating if she wanted to really open this particular can of Dunsparce. She decided against it, opening the door and heading towards the warehouse entrance.

Misty was thankful. And aware that May, and likely the rest of the criminals were nothing like she expected.

* * *

Private Warehouse, Celadon City, Kanto

"Ahem."

Paul looked up from the blueprints he was studying and saw a certain blunette poking her head into his room. "You need something?" he asked.

"Just wanted to make sure you're going to be alright. I understand you haven't done much grifting work? Want a few tips?" she asked with a smile.

He rolled his eyes, returning his attention to the blueprints. "I'll be fine," he replied gruffly.

Dawn didn't take the hint. "You sure I can't help you? I can probably assist in a cover story, at least," she prodded.

Paul glared at her. "Look, I don't tell you how to act, little miss dress up. I can handle myself," he told her.

Dawn frowned. "Well, there's no need to be rude about it," she replied crossly.

"There's also no need for you to be here pestering me, you troublesome woman," he shot back. ' _Note to self; tell Gary I'm doubling my rates if I have to work with her,'_ he thought to himself with annoyance.

Dawn put her hands on her hips, angry. "Troublesome? _I'm_ the troublesome one?" she asked in disbelief.

Paul smirked. "Exactly, Troublesome. Now, are you done yet, or are you going to continue to pester me?" he asked, looking up from the blueprints he was studying.

She narrowed her eyes, glaring at the man. "Sorry for trying to be nice and help out! I mean, Arceus forbid you accept some outside help. And this _does_ happen to be my area of expertise," she argued.

"Troublesome, look, I know you're probably really used to pathetic sycophants bowing to your every whim, but I just don't care. Now, be useful or get out," Paul told her firmly.

Dawn glared at the purple-haired man before stomping off. Just as Paul let out a sigh of relief, her blue-haired head popped back into the doorway.

"And my name is Dawn! D-A-W-N!" she shouted, leaving the room again.

Paul smirked and shook his head. ' _She's going to be a headache.'_

Dawn marched back into the main office, arms crossed and sat down in one of the chairs.

Gary shot her a grin. "Having fun with our hitter?" he asked playfully.

"He is infuriating!" she replied, glaring at the Kanto hacker. "Where did you _find_ him?"

Gary rolled his eyes. "He's the best. He's a loner, and has a reputation for a bad attitude, but he's exactly what we need for this job. He has his part to play, you have yours," he explained.

She was about to argue when she heard the loading doors open. Ash popped his head into the room shortly after that. "Food's here. Who wanted the pineapple and ham?" he asked with a look of distaste. Max raised his hand.

As Dawn got up to get food with the rest of the crew, her thoughts turned to a certain purple-haired annoyance. And she couldn't help but think of the differences between him and her auburn-haired admirer Kenny back in Sinnoh.

* * *

Private Warehouse, Celadon City, Kanto

Night had fallen over Kanto.

Gary was up late, as usual, working on his laptop in the office he and Max had commandeered.

Across from him sat Ash, going over a set of blueprints. "The vault's in the sublevel, so we'll need to get into the elevator shaft to get access."

"Unless they think we have access," Gary suggested as he continued working on his laptop. "What if we pull a Violet City?"

Ash tapped his chin in thought. "That _could_ work, but it'd have to be timed exactly. I think I'd prefer just sending May down the shaft."

"Ashy-Boy, if they have the kind of money I think they do in there, considering they _need_ enough cash to cover each and every chip in the casino, I doubt May will be able to get it all up and out," Gary argued.

Ash sighed. "We've got a month to figure out a way. We'll have time later," he said, fighting off a yawn as he rolled up the blueprints. "I'm going to get some rest. See you tomorrow, Gary."

Gary raised a hand in acknowledgement as his friend left for his room, still typing away at his laptop. Eventually, satisfied with his work, he sent the email onwards to its destination with a tiny twinge of regret. ' _Remember, it's just business. Nothing personal.'_


	3. Chapter 3

**Evening all. Yes, I know I'm late. For that, I apologize. I'm going to attempt to finish this shortly, just sorting some RL stuff out. Either way, slight updates to the story overall, and the next two chapters will be reworked as I need to to be happy with the ending. Again, thank you all for the reviews and the desire to see the end of this, and yes, my fans of Guardians of Rota, too. I'll get around to that, I promise. Likely after this. Anyways, without further rambling on my part, Chapter Three.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, obviously.**

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

Private Warehouse, Celadon City, Kanto

The fast paced clickity clack of keystrokes filled the office overlooking the warehouse as Gary Oak and Max Maple both worked on their firewall intrusion skills. With the grand opening of the casino two weeks away, the crew had been extremely busy with early preparations.

Paul, as part of his cover, had shown up at Team Rocket's HQ with a false name and history, offering to join up. After a grueling week of initiation, he finally managed to convince them of his loyalty. He began slowly feeding information back to the crew about their vehicles, numbers, equipment, and procedures. Ash and Gary had spent the better part of that morning going over it all and figuring out what exactly they could do with the information.

Dawn had also begun her con, dyeing her hair light brown and posing as an investor from Unova. Using her new alias as Alto Mare-born movie executive 'Isabella Lorenzo', she had managed to gain Giovanni's attention and get a room in the casino during the two weeks of finishing work under the guise of a movie executive, looking to use the casino for an upcoming movie shoot.

Along with her personal recommendation to avoid the veal and that the bathrooms in the hotel were amazing, she had forwarded them a detailed floor plan, Giovanni's daily routine, names of several of his top security people for Paul to get close to, and her keycard which Gary was able to duplicate easily.

Misty, with vehicle specs in hand, had been sent out with May to scout out the local car dealerships to find what they would need for their getaway vehicle. The two had sparked a small friendship, if slightly awkward on Misty's part at times.

Max and Gary had quickly evolved into the team's support center, with Gary handling most of the technical aspects and Max supplying the team's gear. The twenty-three year old Hoenn native had managed to rig together a series of stripped down smartphones into small earpieces, allowing for remote communication simply by talking. Gary had been busy setting up backdoor programs to be slipped into the casino's computer systems, assuming Dawn or Paul could get close enough to do so.

All the while, Ash continued planning out every aspect of the heist, in vivid detail.

"What about an earthquake?"

"Ash, do you have any idea how difficult it would be to stage an earthquake?"

Every last, insane, detail.

Gary sighed. "Ash, go take a nap. You're losing it. So far you've suggested we rob the casino under cover of a fire, flood, during the Pokémon Tournament on opening night, and now an earthquake. Go. To. Sleep," he told his friend, emphasising the final words.

Ash took one last look at the floor plans on their projector before nodding. "Alright. Wake me up if anything goes wrong," he informed Gary, to which Gary rolled his eyes.

"Don't worry, you'll be the first to know. Now get out of here and let Max and I work, will ya?" he told his friend with a smirk.

Reluctantly, Ash finally left the command center, hobbling over towards his room for a nap.

"Was he always like this?" Max asked, spinning in his office chair to face Gary.

Gary gave the boy an amused grin. "What, a paranoid, obsessive control freak?" he asked before shaking his head. "Nah, he was pretty laid back, ridiculously so at times. But people can change," he continued, his grin fading slightly, staring off into space. "A lot can change when you blink."

* * *

Honest Harry's Used Cars, Celadon City, Kanto

"Seriously, this is like the twentieth car dealership we've been to, Misty! Can we just pick something and go? I'm hungry…" May whined to her redheaded friend as the pair walked through the car dealership.

"You're exaggerating," Misty replied as she began looking at one of the vans on the lot. "This is only our sixth stop. And we'll go to every one from here to Saffron City if need be until I find what I need," she explained.

Being the perfectionist she was, Misty refused to settle for 'close enough' when it came to her auto body work. Meticulous down to the smallest detail, she was determined to find the exact make and model van that Team Rocket used in their organization.

Finally, after what seemed to May like eons when in actuality was only a few minutes, Misty finally smiled triumphantly. "This is it!" she informed her Hoenn friend.

May sighed in relief. "Finally," she replied with a smile.

Misty began checking the vehicle, kicking the tires and examining several of the bits commonly overlooked when buying a new vehicle, such as brake pads, condition of the frame and underside, among other things.

Crawling back out from under the van, she walked over to the front. "May, can you get this door opened?" Misty asked, indicating the driver's door.

May frowned in confusion, but shrugged, pulling a pair of bobby pins from her hair and set to work, popping the van's lock within seconds. "There ya go," she replied. She was surprised, though, when Misty didn't hop into the driver's seat, instead pulling the door open and sticking her head under the dashboard.

"Yeah, figures they'd try that," she muttered before closing the door. Satisfied that she could fix the van and use what was wrong with it to lower the price, she beckoned to May and began heading towards the main office, a slightly rundown-looking building, to talk the salesmen down.

Entering the small building, Misty and May immediately noticed a man with greasy hair and a suit that looked like it had been sewn together from a set of outdated living room drapes. The man smiled as soon as he caught sight of the pair.

"Well, well, welcome to Honest Harry's Used Cars! You won't find a better deal in Kanto! Now, how can old Harry help you lovely ladies?" he asked, causing both girls skin to crawl slightly as he walked over, sizing the pair up.

"We're interested in the dark grey van, end of the lot. Sticker said twelve thousand?" Misty inquired.

Harry's grin widened even further. "Yes indeed, little lady. You won't find a better deal in all of Kanto, or my name isn't Honest Harry!"

Misty snorted, glancing around the slightly grimy office with distaste, arms crossed. "I'll give you six, up front," she replied without missing a beat, much to the surprise of both May and Harry.

"N-now, listen here, lass," Harry began, "That's the best deal you'll find in Kanto. I've looked it over personally, and I give you my word that the van is in pristine condition. Twelve thousand is my final price," he defended himself.

May rolled her eyes. "Come on, Misty, let's just pay him and go. I'm hungry," she whined.

But Misty simply grinned, ignoring May. "If that's pristine, you're either a crook or an idiot," Misty told the man bluntly. "The frame's got erosion in several spots, the brake pads are almost gone, tires are almost bare, and you cracked the odometer," she listed, counting off on her fingers.

May had to stifle a laugh as 'Honest' Harry's face cycled through a series of emotions rapidly, before finally settling on disbelief. "You broke into the vehicle?" he asked.

Misty simply grinned wider. "Doesn't deny any of it, of course. I'm fairly certain that odometer manipulation is a crime in Kanto. As for how I got in, you left the van unlock. I simply took the opportunity. Now, my offer stands. Six thousand, up front, for the van, and we all leave happy."

May began giggling behind her hand as she watched Harry's face turn various shades. ' _She's good at this,'_ the brunette realized.

Harry, on the other hand, was rapidly backpedaling, his earlier smile long gone. "Listen, I'm sure we can come to some sort of an arrangement," he started, still attempting to negotiate.

Misty just nodded. "Agreed. Six thousand, in cash, and you won't have an Officer Jenny knocking on the door after we leave. Deal?"

May glanced between the two individuals, a grin on her face at how easily Misty managed to twist the greasy shyster around her little finger.

After a long sigh, Harry nodded. "Alright. We have a deal. Six thousand. I'll go get the paperwork drawn up," he replied sourly as he headed back to his desk.

Misty smiled to herself before glancing at May. "Alright, so I bought the van, you're buying lunch. Deal?" she asked.

May's grin widened as she nodded. "Deal."

* * *

Celadon Game Corner Casino, Celadon City, Kanto

"Yes, we'd love to use the main floors, at least three suites, probably several shots in the kitchen, and likely an elevator sequence at some point," Dawn explained to her gracious host, the well dressed Giovanni Sakaki.

The two of them sat in Giovanni's office on the twentieth floor of the nearly completed Celadon Game Corner Casino, which afforded Dawn a spectacular view of the surrounding city. They were currently in the process of discussing the specifics of whether Dawn's company could utilize sections of the casino for her upcoming film.

"Miss Lorenzo, I think what you're asking is doable, but I've some questions regarding your requests," Giovanni explained as he folded his hands on his expensive mahogany desk.

"Pokéstar Studios expected as much, Signore Sanaki, which is why I was sent," Dawn replied, utilizing her acting skills to pull off a spot on Alto Marian accent. "Ask away."

Giovanni smiled and inclined his head. "You haven't mentioned much about the movie itself, or your timetable. I assume you realize that it will be several months before access can be given, correct?"

Dawn smiled and nodded her head. "Of course. Pokéstar Studios understands that you and your casino will be very busy within the next few weeks, with your grand opening and all. We wouldn't dream of interrupting that, of course. As for the movie, we're hoping to begin filming of The Celadon Scandal in the coming fall, based around the lives of a ruggedly handsome, down on his luck professional gambler and the beautiful but lonely hotel heiress. And your casino is the best place in either Kanto or Johto for our shoot. All told, it should only require a week of shoot time."

Giovanni began tapping his index fingers to his chin, his hands still folded, contemplating. "I think we can come to an arrangement, though I'm beginning to wonder if Pokéstar Studios sent you thinking that I'd be more agreeable based on your place of origin," he observed with a smirk.

Dawn simply smiled. "Signore Sanaki, I can assure you that Pokéstar Studios would never stoop to such an underhanded tactic," she purred, even know they both knew he was right. Or at least, he was right about her cover story. "We are, however, very glad you've taken the time to hear our offer, and I personally thank you for the accommodations you've been gracious enough to allow my use of. I look forward to both the grand opening and the upcoming tournament."

"Well, the Celadon Game Corner Casino is happy that Pokéstar Studios has taken an interest in us for your movie. With that in mind, we can begin narrowing down an exact timetable and agree on a suitable amount," Giovanni replied. "Until then, please, enjoy the casino, and everything Celadon City has to offer."

Dawn rose from her seat, giving Giovanni the brightest smile she could muster. "I'll take you up on that, Signore Sanaki. Let me know when you wish to continue this conversation, and we'll discuss it. Perhaps over dinner? I hear the restaurants in Celadon are simply exquisite," she offered.

Giovanni nodded. "Indeed. We can discuss it at a later time, though. If you'll excuse me, I've still got a business to run."

* * *

Team Rocket Headquarters, Celadon City, Kanto

"Hey, you! Give me a hand with this!"

Paul grunted as he marched across the busy garage towards the van that his new 'comrades' were unloading, giving them a hand offloading it's current cargo. In this case, a shipment of firearms from Sinnoh.

As he began hauling the hard shell gun cases into the armory, Paul ran a hand through his hair. His newly dyed red hair. He had Gary update one of his old IDs, specifically that of Dylan Quinn, red-headed mercenary for hire from the Sinnoh region, for his use in infiltrating Team Rocket. It had taken him a week to pass through their initiation, which, compared to his past experiences as a hitter and retrieval specialist, was nothing.

"Come on, grunts, hustle! Giovanni wants those guns offloaded, cleaned, and ready to fire by tomorrow night!"

Paul rolled his eyes as he listened to the barking Team Rocket Admin, a man with a bad attitude and blue hair, which of course reminded him of a certain troublesome blunette. Pierce, his new boss.

"You, new guy! Quinn!"

Paul sighed and looked over to where Pierce was overseeing the unloading. "Hnn?" he grunted in response.

"When we finish offloading, Giovanni wants you on the range. Gotta make sure you're up to scratch for the opening."

Paul stared at the blue-haired man for a moment before nodding. "Alright," he replied gruffly. Inside, however, he was smiling. ' _Finally, something fun,'_ he thought to himself.

Twenty minutes later, Paul wandered into the soundproofed shooting range, noticing three Grunts and Pierce himself. Nodding to the Team Rocket Admin, Pierce waved him over to one of the open bays, a pair of safety glasses, pair of earmuffs, an assault rifle, and a handgun sitting there waiting for him. At the far end of the range were a series of targets, each in the shape of a standard human adult.

"In Team Rocket, we expect a certain level of marksmanship from our members. Do well enough and I'll see about having you posted for the casino opening," he informed Paul. "Fail to meet my expectations, however, and I'll see you offloading trucks for the next twenty years, understood?"

Paul simple smirked, running a hand through his hair. "Perfectly," he replied as he walked up to the bench, donning his ear and eye protection and picking up the handgun and magazine next to it. Checking them both briefly, he slapped the magazine into the receiver of the pistol, cycled the chamber, removed the safety and began taking aim. Doing the quick calculations in his head, he fired off three consecutive rounds down range, each hitting the target he was aiming for dead center.

Smirking, he dropped the magazine and cleared the chamber, setting the pistol down before turning his attention to the assault rifle. Having used similar in the past, he shouldered the weapon, picked up the magazine and inserted it into the receiver, pulled back the charging handle to load the first round, checked the safety and began taking aim once again, this time at a farther target.

' _Stationary target, one hundred yards, standard human target,'_ he thought to himself as he adjusted his aim to suit the closer range, noticing the iron sights had been sighted in for the weapon's maximum range. As he settled into a firing stance, he regulated his breathing, bringing the iron sights down to minimum range, eventually exhaling and squeezing the trigger.

He smiled as the trio of rounds he fired off each struck his target perfectly. Nodding in satisfaction, he removed the magazine and emptied the chamber, setting them both back onto the bench. Turning back to Pierce as he removed his shooting glasses and earmuffs, he saw the Rocket Admin smiling as well.

"Impressive, Quinn. Alright, I'll put you on the roster for the opening. Now, let's get back to work, shall we?"

Paul nodded. ' _Alright Ash, part one down. Let's hope this plan of yours works.'_

* * *

Private Warehouse, Celadon City, Kanto

"Alright, Misty's working on the van, Dawn's getting more information from dear old Giovanni, May's got her infiltration and exfiltration all planned out, Max is finishing the last few touches on your asinine Plan C, and I've been in touch with six separate hackers putting this intrusion software together. Trust me, Ash, this will work."

' _I love Ash like a brother, but there are some days I wish I was still a black hat,'_ Gary thought to himself as he rubbed his temples. Ash had been micromanaging the entire job for weeks now, and it was beginning to wear on Gary's nerves.

"I just hate leaving anything to chance, you know?" Ash asked as he looked over Paul's most recent report. The pair were the only ones left in the overseer's office at the moment, with Gary sitting at his desk and Ash lounging on the couch they had brought in. The rest of the crew were all either finishing up their work or getting ready for bed.

"Ash, this is bordering on obsessive. How you and Looker managed to get anything done, I'll never know," Gary replied sullenly as he continued working on his computer.

Ash simply nodded. "Usually with a lot of red tape and a fair amount of rule bending. We got good at circumventing the bureaucracy involved in the job, but we had to be really careful about it. Probably the cause of my rampant paranoia and tendency towards micromanagement," he explained as he continued looking through the report.

Eventually the clickity-clack of Gary's computer wound down as the spiky-haired brunet got up from his computer and headed for the door, pausing to look back at Ash. "Don't spend all night in here, alright?"

Shooting Gary a smirk, Ash nodded. "I'll get some sleep, don't worry," he assured his friend as the brunet made his way to his room. Ash, however, stayed for a few minutes longer, going over every single detail of the report, over and over.

"Lookin' a little tired there, Ketchum."

Snapping out his trance, he rubbed his eyes and glanced to the doorway to the office. He was greeted by the smiling face of May. Without waiting for a reply, she wandered into the room and flopped onto the couch next to him, a content smile on her lips.

"What are you still doing up?" Ash asked curiously as he set the report aside, shaking his head a bit to drive sleep away for a time.

May shrugged. "Misty needed a hand on the van's brakes. When I got back to the room, Max was asleep, so I figured I'd go poke about for a bit," she explained.

Ash nodded a bit. "I imagine your job makes you keep odd hours," he observed. ' _Kind of odd, just being able to sit down and talk with her after all the chasing I did back in Hoenn,'_ he mused to himself as she nodded.

"Yeah, I've always been a Noctowl when it came to schedules. Max is the early riser of us. Me? I'd rather crash at three or four and sleep till noon," she told him as she began playing with her hair.

"I used to keep rather odd hours back in Interpol, but my schedule got really screwed up about two years ago," he told her.

May frowned slightly. ' _That was about the time he stopped chasing me,_ ' the girl thought to herself. She recalled her earlier conversation with Misty and began getting curious. "Hey, Ash? Can I ask you something? If you don't want to answer, I'll understand."

He frowned for a moment. "Can't promise an answer, but I'll do what I can," he replied cautiously.

May was quiet as she thought how to word her question. "What happened two years ago, exactly? You just kinda vanished for a while."

Ash closed his eyes, a look of sorrow coming over his face. May was about to tell him to forget it when he answered. "Team Rocket happened," he started. "They killed my mother and Gary's grandfather in a driveby shooting in Viridian City. Giovanni's son, Silver, was our main suspect, and I left Hoenn to track him down. Eventually did, too. But the courts had other ideas," he explained bitterly.

"I'm sorry," May offered. "I didn't know it was a touchy subject," she explained, but Ash waved it away.

"It's in the past. Well, technically the present, considering our goal," he explained, throwing a small grin back onto his face. "Soon, Team Rocket will be a giant smoking hole in the ground."

"What'll you do then? After your crusade is finished, I mean," May asked, her inquisitive personality getting the better of her.

Ash shrugged, running a hand through his messy black hair. "Hadn't given it much thought, honestly. Don't think I could go back to Interpol after everything, especially seeing as I'm running a criminal crew to take down one of the most powerful men in the Kanto-Johto area. I don't know, maybe I'll become a private investigator or something," he mused.

May smiled, beginning to feel a bit sleepy. "You know, Max and I could always use another set of hands on our heists, and you are good in a pinch," she offered. "I don't expect you to actually take me up on the offer, but I figured I may as well offer, at least."

Ash's mouth twitched into something of a smile. "Let's get through the next week, first, then we can focus on the 'what comes after', eh? Still, I appreciate the offer," he told the girl.

* * *

Misty was heading to her room with May when she saw Gary exit the main office, heading towards his own room. When he caught sight of Misty, he smiled and began heading over towards her, while May went to her own room, only to exit shortly thereafter, heading off.

"Evening Red. How's the van project going?" he asked as he stopped by her, leaning against the doorjamb to his room, watching May head off towards where he left Ash. Misty noticed he was definitely looking tired.

She shrugged. "It's going," she told him. "Not sure where, but it's certainly going. May gave me a hand with the brakes, and I've got to get some decent tires for it tomorrow, but overall, we should be in business in the next few days," she explained, crossing her arms.

Gary nodded, his head looking heavy. "Ash'll be happy, at least. Boy needs to learn to take a break. At this rate, he's going to have sixty contingency plans by the time the Opening rolls around."

Misty just nodded, a smirk coming to her face. "That's Ash. A plan for everything. I'm surprised he hasn't gone gray yet from all the thinking and worrying he does," she replied, amused.

Gary smirked. "I'll check when we get through this. Assuming we actually _do_ get through this," he added. "I'm still amazed you're actually still here, honestly. Why'd you even tag along?"

"Probably the money," she admitted. "Partly because… Well, because even though things between us ended badly, I still want Ash to enjoy his life. I can't really explain it," she admitted, scratching the back of her head.

Gary nodded in understanding. "He's a great guy, but you two just didn't fit, I get it. He was an authority figure, you're more of a rebel. Only natural you two would clash," he assured her.

"Then how do you two get along so well?" she asked with a smirk.

Gary shrugged. "We grew up together, and we're used to it. Besides, I'm a lot more laid back than he is, which means I get along pretty well with everybody outside of jobs. When I'm running a crew, though, I'm a bit more in control, but Ashy-boy's got the 'Control Freak' position sewn up entirely."

Misty chuckled lightly. "Yeah, a lot of people asked us how we tolerated each other. Never gave it much thought, honestly, though he was the first guy who actually stuck it out with me."

Gary frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Misty smirked. "I'm a car girl, remember? Most guys, when they find that out, either treat me like I'm an idiot, or decide to ask me out, only to bail when they discovered my temper. Ash was the first one who didn't care, but he was married to his job, you know?" she explained. ' _Why am I even having this conversation with Gary, anyways?'_ she wondered to herself.

Gary simply grinned. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Surprised you haven't killed Ash yet, honestly. But we can analyse that more some other time, perhaps over dinner?" he asked slyly.

Misty rolled her eyes. "In your dreams, Oak," she replied as she set off towards her room.

Leaving the brunet, she passed by the main office and threw a glance in out of curiosity. She saw Ash nodding off while reading a report. She was about to tell him to go to sleep when she noticed May sitting next to him, asleep against the couch arm.

She stood at the door for a moment before a smile crept onto her face. Deciding not to interrupt the pair, she made her way to her own room. And she was surprised when it wasn't images of the pair that stayed in her head, but Gary's words instead.


End file.
